Of Lullabies and Sweet Songs
by freestyle-spirit
Summary: A simple song can sooth the soul in times of need. Sokka knew then that he was all she had for protection. Katara Sokka sibling friendship. Oneshot. My first fanfic. Please R/R.
1. She sang him a sweet lullaby

**A/N: This is my first fanfic, or oneshot that I have written. This idea came to me while listening to some favourite songs of mine. I am quite proud of them. Hopeyou enjoy :)**

Disclaimer: All characters, locations and storylines pertaining to Avatar the Last Airbender is property of Nickolodean and Viacom.

**_Summary: Chapter 1 and Two come as a pair and are set around the events of the Fire Nation Raids upon the Southern Water Tribe, when Sokka and Katara are kids. The first chapter is a small introduction to Chapter 2, and is set about 15 years pre series._**

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_**Chapter 1: She sang him a sweet lullaby**_

"_Sleepyhead, close your eyes.  
Mother's right here beside you.  
I'll protect you from harm,  
You will wake in my arms."_

The Fire Nation was invading. So she sang him a soothing lullaby. She sang him a lullaby; to silence the harsh metallic sounds, to quieten the explosions that rocked their icy world, to hush out the screams that would disturb her babies slumber. She huddled in the corner of her home, alone, as her husband was apart of the chaos outside. The chaos, the death and despair that came with this 100 year war. A chaos that he would not allow her to be apart of….

And it was a chaos that she would not allow _him _to witness, not yet at least. Surely when he was older, her son as a man would join the warriors of the Southern Water Tribe, in their fight to protect their home, and their fight for freedom. But not yet. For this moment at least she could preserve his sweet innocence, yet to be tainted by the bloodlust of war.

An explosion rocked the foundations of the small igloo, followed by a faint bloodcurdling scream and a wail as her baby fitfully woke from his sleep. She huddled closer into her safe corner, protectively enclosing herself around her baby.

"_Shhhh now Sokka..." _she whispered, "Everything is going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. Mummy's right here…"

She was all _he_ had at that moment for protection, for whether she would see her beloved husband ever again, whether he would return to her safe and unharmed, she didn't know. Yes, she was all he had_, _so she tried in vain to shut off the sounds of the chaos and madness outside.

"_Guardian spirits are near,  
So sleep on, with no fear.  
Guardian spirits are near,  
So sleep on, with no fear."_

So she sang him a lullaby, as she promised him that everything would be alright. And for that moment, it was.

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**A/N: Lyrics extracted and changed slighty (for Avatar verse) from "_Lullaby and Goodnight" _or _"Brahm's Lullaby" _written by German songwriter Johannes Brahm. This is definetly one of my favourite lullabies as a kid.**


	2. He sang her a sweet lullaby

Disclaimer: All characters, locations and storylines pertaining to Avatar the Last Airbender is property of Nickolodean and Viacom.

_**Summary: Chapter 1 and Two come as a pair and are set around the events of the Fire Nation Raids upon the Southern Water Tribe, when Sokka and Katara are kids. This one is from Sokka's POV and is set 7 years pre series.**_

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_**Chapter 2: He sang her a sweet lullaby**_

BOOM! Explosions rocked the foundations of the small ice hut, as the Fire Nation again invaded the Southern Water Tribe. Inside the kitchen cupboard of their home, a young boy and girl cowered in fear. They were shut off from the death, chaos and despair outside. Both had been put there by their mother, so that they would be safe, so that their innocence could be spared, for the time at least. The boy and girl sat in silence, holding each other tight, the boys mittens cupped over his sisters ears to dim the sounds of the horrors outside. The events of the past hour drifted in and out of his mind.

_--_

"_Sooookkaaaa! Please come waterbend with me?," Katara had whined for the tenth time that afternoon. _

_Sure it was a nice enough day and all, a fine midnight sun that was perfect for playing outside and building snow forts. Even fine enough that Sokka felt happy enough to let his sister some along and join in. Well not entirely, his mother had forced him to watch over her. Forced him to participate in her fun and games, which mostly resulted in Katara insulting her brother about his lack of waterbending skills._

'_And she knows full well how I feel about that' Sokka thought with a jealous twinge. It was really starting to get on his nerves._

"_Katara I'm trying to build a snow fort, go do you nansy-pansy water-bending somewhere else. I'm not interested in your girl play."_

_And thankfully, to his relief she left him alone. So Sokka continued to work the rest of the afternoon, until finally in all its glory stood his snow fort, glistening under the midnight sun. Sokka stood proudly surveying his work, but wait, no……it wasn't glistening any more… _

'_Since when was snow peppered with black?' Sokka pondered._

_But he didn't get time to contemplate this train of thought, for no sooner had the snow begun to darken and the sun start to fade over to black, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard all over camp and a sense of urgency hung in the air. Before he knew it, Sokka found Katara wrapped around his waist, eyes wide in fear, for she had never known a time or feeling like this before in her seven years of life. But Sokka had and he could faintly remember a time like this, a long time ago…_

"_Katara we need to find mum," The little girl looked up at her brother with tears glistening in her eyes and nodded in agreement. _

_Ten minutes of tension, ten minutes of tears, ten minutes of panic later and they had finally found her. With a look of relief she hugged both of her children tightly._

"_Katara, Sokka listen to me, bad men are coming, from the Fire Nation" Sokka's eyes widened in fear. _

"_But it's going to be ok, because daddy's going to try and stop them." Sokka could just slightly pinpoint the distress in her voice. The tears began to roll down Katara's cheeks "Oh, Katara please don't cry, everything is going to be fine, mummy's just going to put you some place safe for awhile." She said this as she slowly led them towards their snow hut. Sokka noted that she seemed so calm, for their sake, unlike everything and everyone around her. _

_When they reached the snow hut, Sokka and Katara were ushered inside, where their mother quickly closed the door. She turned to face them both, and looked them both deeply into their cerulean eyes._

"_Sokka, Katara I'm going to have to go for awhile ok? You have to stay in here no matter what. Katara, you have to listen to your brother, listen to whatever he tells you. I have to help your dad face the bad men."_

"_But mommy, you can't leave us…" Katara cried. Her mother placed her hands on Katara's shoulders._

"_Katara you have to be brave for me ok? I'm not going to be gone for very long. You need to stay safe. I love you both very much, and I'll be back very soon, I promise." With that she smiled and pulled her daughter and son into a loving hug._

"_Sokka I need you to watch over Katara. Don't let her out of your sight…"_

_The earth shook wildly, as if the spirits themselves were grinding up the very ice they were standing on. Pieces of ice broke from the ceiling as the tremours continued. Sokka froze with fear and his mother held onto him tightly. As she hugged him, she spoke softly into his ear, tears staining his parka, the panic no longer hidden from her voice._

"_Sokka you must protect you sister. Please promise you will watch over her no matter what…"_

"_Mum please…" In the silence that followed the earthquake, Sokka could faintly hear angry voices, and cries of terror from his brethren outside. He knew what was coming, and it chilled him to the core._

"_Promise me!" Sokka had never heard his mother sound this way._

"_I promise mum," he said faintly, knowing what came with that promise, knowing full well what his mother expected to happen. His mother's look of relief was short lived, as again the gruff, angry voices outside could be heard; louder and closer. They were followed by another tremor, then an orange flare appeared briefly from under the closed door, then silence. _

"_Quickly, quickly inside," And before Sokka knew it, he and Katara were shoved under the kitchen cupboard, the door securely shut. They huddled together in silence, and no sound could be heard apart from their heavy breathing, and the sound of their mothers voice faintly reciting prayers to the spirits for safety. It was at that moment that the first explosions started, and Sokka and Katara could feel the heat radiating through the cupboard door._

_--_

Sokka hadn't heard a sound from his mother after that. In the silence following each earth shattering explosion, in the silence following the red and orange glows and the heat that coursed through the cupboard door, through his sisters silent cries, he listened. He listened for any sight, any sound. Nothing. Of his mother….Nothing. And his father? Who knew?

And then it would continue. The silence would be broken by a never ending onslaught of tremours and heat. Sokka tried desperately to shut his eyes, and his ears from the horrifying sounds that drifted through the cupboard door. He could hear in the distance screams of pain, screams of terror and of sadness. Remembering his promise to his mother, he shoved his mittens over Katara's ears, so that maybe, just maybe she could be spared the pain.

One particularly violent explosion rocked the snow hut, and the cupboard door swung slightly open. One look was all he could take, and Sokka quickly wrapped his sister in an even tighter embrace, shielding her from the sites beyond the door. She struggled against his hold, but eventually gave in. He closed the door quickly; for Sokka never wanted Katara to bear that image in her mind, the inside of their home burned beyond recognition, their mothers still and lifeless eyes staring erringly at the cupboard door, her cold hand stretched out towards them, in one last loving attempt to protect them…

Sokka tried to shut it all out, but it was all too much, his mind was reeling from the shock and sorrow.

'I need her, I need comfort, and I need her voice there telling me it's going to be alright, I need…'

'But she's not going to be there...' a voice in his mind reminded him,'...but I need something..."

And from the depths of his scattered mind, a song drifted faintly into existence. This song was a distant memory, barely remembered, but for some unknown reason, it soothed his panicked mind, soothed his grieving heart, soothed his soul, and made him remember his promise.

Sokka knew then that he was all _she_ had for protection. He had promised. Yes, he was all she had, so he tried in vain to shut off the sounds of the chaos and madness outside. The words of the song drifted from his mind through to his voice. Katara continued silently to shed tears as she held onto her brother, drenching his parka, but she soon breathed easier and her eyes fluttered closed. Sokka's voice was croaky and scared, but it sang a soothing lullaby.

"_Sleepyhead, close your eyes.  
Brother's right here beside you.  
I'll protect you from harm,__  
You will waken in my arms."_

"_Shhhh now Katara..." _he whispered, "Everything is going to be okay, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you. I'm right here…" He continued to sing.

"_Guardian spirits are near,  
So sleep on, with no fear.  
Guardian spirits are near,  
So sleep on, with no fear."_

The Fire Nation was invading. So he sang his sister a soothing lullaby. He sang her a lullaby; to silence the harsh metallic sounds, to quieten the explosions that rocked their icy world, to hush out the screams…..

He sang her a soothing lullaby, as he promised her that everything would be alright. And for that moment, it was.

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**A/N: A little sad I know. Hope you like it. You can see now how Chapter 1 and 2 go hand in hand. I got the inspiration for this thinking about the upcoming episode "The Southern Raiders" and what I think happened to Sokka and Katara's mum. Katara and Sokka are a little younger in this one, but I'm proud with how it turned out. R/R please and I will respond to your comments. Next OneShot will be a little happier I promise.**

**Lyrics extracted and changed slighty (for Avatar verse) from "_Lullaby and Goodnight" _or _"Brahm's Lullaby" _written by German songwriter Johannes Brahm. **

**freestylespirit**


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